Shark for a 30g??

[Acros]

I had to re-home my 4" long yellow coris wrasse as he was too big for my 30g.

If you don't mind me asking, what is restricting you to a 30g? Why not a 600g? Why not a 180g if you want to keep that shark for a short while?

 

[Karen00]

I feel a lot of people don't realize that even small aquatic creatures (either as hatchlings/juveniles or small throughout their lives) have huge territories in the wild. I would assume captive bred doesn't wipe out the genetic hard wiring either.

The creature could be the size of a pea but still have a territory that spans miles. You'd think something that small could live in a 5g but in reality would require at least 100g to be happy and thrive. I would think sharks (even as hatchlings/juveniles) would fall into this category of needing a lot of space from the outset (or at least within a couple months). I know nothing of sharks other than what I see on documentaries but I have researched a lot of fish for my tanks and have come to realize that small in no way means it can be kept in a small tank (even as a baby).

 

[Miller535]

According to most experts sharks do NOT belong in tanks with corners, they end up running nose first into them and can hurt themselves. Most hobbyist that keep them keep them in a large "race track tank", or some type of roundish tank. And thats ignoring the fact that a 30 gallon would only be large enough for maybe a month or two.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I feel a lot of people don't realize that even small aquatic creatures (either as hatchlings/juveniles or small throughout their lives) have huge territories in the wild. I would assume captive bred doesn't wipe out the genetic hard wiring either.

The creature could be the size of a pea but still have a territory that spans miles. You'd think something that small could live in a 5g but in reality would require at least 100g to be happy and thrive. I would think sharks (even as hatchlings/juveniles) would fall into this category of needing a lot of space from the outset (or at least within a couple months). I know nothing of sharks other than what I see on documentaries but I have researched a lot of fish for my tanks and have come to realize that small in no way means it can be kept in a small tank (even as a baby).

Actually...there's a formula for keeping sharks in aquaria. It's on MFK, and I've linked it here . And there's a lot of anecdotes about keeping juvenile fish (that are small) in smaller tanks until they've reached a larger size and can go in the bigger tanks (which most aquarists tend to use as an excuse for buying big fish as juvies... "ohhh, I'll just buy a bigger tank when it gets bigger!")

Personally, unless it's a known inactive fish (like frogfish), or an incredibly active fish (some wrasses/tangs) I try to follow the " *6" rule :the fish should be at least 1/6 the length of the tank.

As a side note, what creature the size of a pea has a territory that spans miles? Now I'm very curious....

 

[tvan]

Bio load from one shark alone rules out your 30... Most successful shark keepers I've known use something the size of a swimming pool. The stress will kill em.

 

[tehmadreefer]

I am probably about to bashed for asking this, but is there any small species of shark that could live in a 30 gallon tank. Now that said I would be willing to hatch one and sell it once it get too big.

 

[Tired]

I... would not trust MFK in this. There are far too many tanks on there that, by their rules, are fine, but hold multiple large, fairly active fish in a tank barely big enough to turn around in once they reach the end. A lot of very crowded tanks, too. MFK seems to go by the rule that if something isn't dead, it's fine. I used to be on there (I kept a warmouth sunfish and wanted to learn more about it), but it was just depressing, so I left. Unless they've changed a ton in the past few years, I'm very much not impressed. There's more to keeping an animal properly than not killing it.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Got a baby blue fin in my 70g never had a issue

 

[ichthyogeek]

I... would not trust MFK in this. There are far too many tanks on there that, by their rules, are fine, but hold multiple large, fairly active fish in a tank barely big enough to turn around in once they reach the end. A lot of very crowded tanks, too. MFK seems to go by the rule that if something isn't dead, it's fine. I used to be on there (I kept a warmouth sunfish and wanted to learn more about it), but it was just depressing, so I left. Unless they've changed a ton in the past few years, I'm very much not impressed. There's more to keeping an animal properly than not killing it.

Hmmm....I don't disagree with you. I haven't been as active on MFK as I was in high school, but there's still a lot of useful information archived there. The tank formulas I'm specifically linking to though are based off of the EHM, Bob Fenner's Conscientious Marine Aquarist, and small/medium public aquaria according to the author. But given that it was posted in 2011, it could be outdated if there're new guidelines on how to keep sharks.

 

[tvan]

Most LFS won't touch something they can't sale or dedicate the room to. An egg seems easy(it's not) but what do you do with a 3ft banded cat shark. Saltwater bathtub???

 

[Tired]

Ah, I would be more inclined to listen to public aquaria. That's reasonable.
MFK just rubs me the wrong way. Especially with the number of people who seem to like having a predatory fish just so they can feed it live things. Yes, okay, it's cool to watch a predator at work, but I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't feed live vertebrates to an animal that will eat humanely killed vertebrates. Especially not a predator that tends to bite its food in half like some fish can, and especially not deliberately over-large food items so you can watch the predator fight it. Lots of that nonsense on Youtube.

OP, why do you want a shark? If you want a fish that's an eager eater and snaps up food, try a hawkfish, some species are small enough for a 30gal. If you want something "cool", maybe a banded/rooster-tail waspfish? They're venomous (though not lethally so for you), very confident, and fun to watch. If you want a neat predator, a golden dwarf moray can go in a tank that size, they're bitty. I think some of the smaller lionfish species can work in a 50gal. Frogfish, too.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Yeah, No.

 

[Karen00]

Actually...there's a formula for keeping sharks in aquaria. It's on MFK, and I've linked it here . And there's a lot of anecdotes about keeping juvenile fish (that are small) in smaller tanks until they've reached a larger size and can go in the bigger tanks (which most aquarists tend to use as an excuse for buying big fish as juvies... "ohhh, I'll just buy a bigger tank when it gets bigger!")

Personally, unless it's a known inactive fish (like frogfish), or an incredibly active fish (some wrasses/tangs) I try to follow the " *6" rule :the fish should be at least 1/6 the length of the tank.

As a side note, what creature the size of a pea has a territory that spans miles? Now I'm very curious....

I can't definitively say the size of the territory but I was thinking of the freshwater pea puffer. I originally had a 2.5g that was given to me so was looking for fish I could keep in this. I came across the pea puffer then read at minimum they needed a 5g and I believe a pair was minimum 20g. At that point I didn't do more research into them other than I read they were highly territorial and voracious eaters so is their need for space because they roam for food? Roam to guard their territory? Or maybe they pretty much stay in one place and just sense if their territory is threatened then they take action? Other? I was shocked to see such an incredibly small creature requiring such space for their size.

I have a 30g and I find it eye opening to think it would barely hold a pair of pea puffers if what I read about the minimum requirements are true. It also got me to thinking how far a lot of creatures actually travel in the wild or just need the space for their territory for whatever reason.

I also totally understand that people are able to keep all manner of creatures in tanks that don't necessarily meet the requirements at least for a little while.

I ended up using the 2.5g for pods.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Just get a really mean damsel

 

[ReefLab]

I would worry more about finding a buyer for the shark first. If you can find somebody (and make them sign a contract making them buy the shark from you after you've raised it to a certain size, under penalty of monetary fines), then there are a few species that might work.

In other words, no

 

[ichthyogeek]

I can't definitively say the size of the territory but I was thinking of the freshwater pea puffer. I originally had a 2.5g that was given to me so was looking for fish I could keep in this. I came across the pea puffer then read at minimum they needed a 5g and I believe a pair was minimum 20g. At that point I didn't do more research into them other than I read they were highly territorial and voracious eaters so is their need for space because they roam for food? Roam to guard their territory? Or maybe they pretty much stay in one place and just sense if their territory is threatened then they take action? Other? I was shocked to see such an incredibly small creature requiring such space for their size.

I have a 30g and I find it eye opening to think it would barely hold a pair of pea puffers if what I read about the minimum requirements are true. It also got me to thinking how far a lot of creatures actually travel in the wild or just need the space for their territory for whatever reason.

I also totally understand that people are able to keep all manner of creatures in tanks that don't necessarily meet the requirements at least for a little while.

I ended up using the 2.5g for pods.

Oh huh. One of us (might be me) might have outdated information. I’ve heard it’s 5g for the first, and 2.5 for every other puffer you want to have (3 in a 10, 7??? in a 20 probably a long), and have a greater ratio of females to males. It’s definitely a territory thing with those fish, the emphasis for keeping a group is to minimize sight lines (lots of driftwood, plants, etc). Sort of like bettas. But, y’know, puffier.

In other words, no

Never say never

 

[92Miata]

Ah, I would be more inclined to listen to public aquaria. That's reasonable.
MFK just rubs me the wrong way. Especially with the number of people who seem to like having a predatory fish just so they can feed it live things. Yes, okay, it's cool to watch a predator at work, but I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't feed live vertebrates to an animal that will eat humanely killed vertebrates. Especially not a predator that tends to bite its food in half like some fish can, and especially not deliberately over-large food items so you can watch the predator fight it. Lots of that nonsense on Youtube.

OP, why do you want a shark? If you want a fish that's an eager eater and snaps up food, try a hawkfish, some species are small enough for a 30gal. If you want something "cool", maybe a banded/rooster-tail waspfish? They're venomous (though not lethally so for you), very confident, and fun to watch. If you want a neat predator, a golden dwarf moray can go in a tank that size, they're bitty. I think some of the smaller lionfish species can work in a 50gal. Frogfish, too.

I agree that MFK is a mess. Too many of those fish end up dumped at lfs/aquariums/in local waterways.

OP - may I suggest one of the smaller anglers/frogfish? Wartskin anglers are clearly awesome.

If you want something dangerous, there are stonefish available.

 

[Karen00]

Oh huh. One of us (might be me) might have outdated information. I’ve heard it’s 5g for the first, and 2.5 for every other puffer you want to have (3 in a 10, 7??? in a 20 probably a long), and have a greater ratio of females to males. It’s definitely a territory thing with those fish, the emphasis for keeping a group is to minimize sight lines (lots of driftwood, plants, etc). Sort of like bettas. But, y’know, puffier.

Never say never

Haha. It's entirely possible the information I got was wrong. This was quite a while ago and the info originally came from a LFS and then I googled. Sure there were some that mentioned smaller tanks but most said larger for happy peas. I stopped looking at that point because I wanted happy peas so didn't look further into them. LOL

Then someone on here was asking for fish for a 5g (or maybe it was a 7g). This had me reading the thread because I've been looking at starting a pico or small nano. A couple small gobies were mentioned and I thought "great" there is something other than shrimp that can be kept in tanks that small. When I googled the tank size for one of them it was minimum 10g. I think the goby was the size of a dime. Haha. I haven't done any further research into them so maybe they can be happily kept in something smaller.

Even some of my freshwater gobies who are in tanks larger than the minimum look like they'd be even happier in tanks that are larger based on the pacing they do. I suspect they wouldn't stop roaming at 3' in the wild and they are tiny gobies.

 

[tvan]

The only way I could give away an adult coral cat, I included a 265 gallon tank, filter, 1hp chiller, stand, sand, protein skimmer, etc.. etc...

 

[Tired]

I have a trimma goby in a 5gal. He stays within about a 6" square of the tank, and hasn't been outside that square for several months, excluding the occasional nanosecond zip outside it and then back in when he grabs food. The thing about trimma gobies is, they perch. They pick one to three spots, and they move between those spots. If they see food, they dart to grab it, then go back to their spot. They don't roam, they just watch things.

If you want fish for a very small tank, or a proportionately small tank, you want perching fish. Frogfish are fine in comparatively small tanks because they don't really move. A decent number of saltwater gobies are perfectly fine in nano/pico tanks, as long as parameters are stable, but you have to pick the less active ones.